This was part of our Florida Trip. You can view the full trip report HERE.
The plan for the next two days was to explore the Keys.
Day 1:
Today we decided to take the Glass Bottom boat ride to get a view of the Coral Reefs. There are two boats that offer this ride - The Key Largo Princess and the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat which departs from inside the state park. When you google 'Glass Bottom Boat' only the KeyLargo Princess shows up for some reason. But we opted for the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat and we were very happy that we did. This one does not offer drinks like the other one and thought would be more kid-friendly. It was around $24 per adult and $17 per kid and departs from inside the park. Since we had booked the 3:30 pm, we had the morning to explore the other part of the Keys.
Keys are famous for their delicious Key Lime Pies and our first stop for the day was the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory. They had a wide variety of fresh key lime pies, cookies and pastries. We picked up a few to eat later during the day. The place itself was very beautiful with a small area at the back with tables, chairs and hens running around!
The next stop was the Robbies at the Islamorada Key. This place is known for their seafood and Tarpon feeding. Though we did neither, the place by itself gave a local flavor and we enjoyed the visit. The Tarpon Feeding is $4 per bucket and an additional $2.25 to get on the dock. But there is another dock next to the Tarpon feeding dock that is free to enter and the view is the same or even better since we can see people feeding the Tarpons. So if you are not feeding the Tarpons, don't spend money just to get on the dock. We spent around an hour here before we headed back.
We stopped for a mid morning snack at the Midway Cafe. The cafe is very small and cozy and the smoothies are delicious.
Next we headed straight to the John Pennekamp State Park and reached there around 1:30 PM. The entrance fee is $9. Be sure to spend few hours in the park. There are 2 beaches and couple of trails. We spent a lot of time at the beach next to the visitor center. The tickets to the glass bottom boat tour need to be exchanged in the store next to the visitor center. We had our picnic lunch at the beach and relaxed till the tour. The boat tour was about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Since it was a weekday, the boat was less than half full so we had a lot of place to move around. The view of the coral reefs and ocean life was very beautiful to see. The view was pretty clear that day so we got lucky.
We headed back to the hotel for a break. After dinner we headed out to get some memorabilia. The Largo Cargo Co. gift shop down the road had a wonderful collection.
Google Maps
Day 2 - Bahia Honda State Park and Key West
We left the hotel at 9 AM and drove to Bahia Honda State Park. On the way is the Seven Mile Bridge, one of the largest bridges connecting two keys. The Bahia Honda is an hour and 45 minutes from the hotel and we reached there at 11AM. This is one of the most beautiful places on the Keys and given a choice can spend the full day here. The water to has a different blue tinge and clear. We spent around 2 hours here and had our picnic lunch. We took a stroll by the beach, collected some shells, took a walk to the broken bridge and spent time admiring the nature.
Next we drove to the Fort Zachery Taylor and spent an hour there. There is a fort and a beach.
Google Maps
Around 4:30 we drove back and parked at the Firehouse Parking for 3 hours. We walked to the Ernest Hemming House, Lighthouse and Truman House. Did not have time to go inside to just viewed them from outside. Then we went to the Mile 0 marker and from there walked to the Mallory Square to catch the sunset.
The sunset was indeed beautiful along with some local talent street performances and some local food like fresh guacamole and chips and coconut water. We spent an hour here and then walked back to the car through Duval Street.
Google Maps
It took around 2 hours to get back to the hotel.
The plan for the next two days was to explore the Keys.
Day 1:
Today we decided to take the Glass Bottom boat ride to get a view of the Coral Reefs. There are two boats that offer this ride - The Key Largo Princess and the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat which departs from inside the state park. When you google 'Glass Bottom Boat' only the KeyLargo Princess shows up for some reason. But we opted for the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat and we were very happy that we did. This one does not offer drinks like the other one and thought would be more kid-friendly. It was around $24 per adult and $17 per kid and departs from inside the park. Since we had booked the 3:30 pm, we had the morning to explore the other part of the Keys.
Keys are famous for their delicious Key Lime Pies and our first stop for the day was the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory. They had a wide variety of fresh key lime pies, cookies and pastries. We picked up a few to eat later during the day. The place itself was very beautiful with a small area at the back with tables, chairs and hens running around!
The next stop was the Robbies at the Islamorada Key. This place is known for their seafood and Tarpon feeding. Though we did neither, the place by itself gave a local flavor and we enjoyed the visit. The Tarpon Feeding is $4 per bucket and an additional $2.25 to get on the dock. But there is another dock next to the Tarpon feeding dock that is free to enter and the view is the same or even better since we can see people feeding the Tarpons. So if you are not feeding the Tarpons, don't spend money just to get on the dock. We spent around an hour here before we headed back.
Next we headed straight to the John Pennekamp State Park and reached there around 1:30 PM. The entrance fee is $9. Be sure to spend few hours in the park. There are 2 beaches and couple of trails. We spent a lot of time at the beach next to the visitor center. The tickets to the glass bottom boat tour need to be exchanged in the store next to the visitor center. We had our picnic lunch at the beach and relaxed till the tour. The boat tour was about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Since it was a weekday, the boat was less than half full so we had a lot of place to move around. The view of the coral reefs and ocean life was very beautiful to see. The view was pretty clear that day so we got lucky.
Google Maps
Day 2 - Bahia Honda State Park and Key West
We left the hotel at 9 AM and drove to Bahia Honda State Park. On the way is the Seven Mile Bridge, one of the largest bridges connecting two keys. The Bahia Honda is an hour and 45 minutes from the hotel and we reached there at 11AM. This is one of the most beautiful places on the Keys and given a choice can spend the full day here. The water to has a different blue tinge and clear. We spent around 2 hours here and had our picnic lunch. We took a stroll by the beach, collected some shells, took a walk to the broken bridge and spent time admiring the nature.
We left to the Key West around 1 PM and reached there around 2 PM. since it was a weekday there were lots of available paid street parking. We parked next to the Southern Most Point and walked there. Usually there are long lines to take a picture but it was not bad that day. We managed to take some good shots and then took a quick stroll to check out the place.
Google Maps
Around 4:30 we drove back and parked at the Firehouse Parking for 3 hours. We walked to the Ernest Hemming House, Lighthouse and Truman House. Did not have time to go inside to just viewed them from outside. Then we went to the Mile 0 marker and from there walked to the Mallory Square to catch the sunset.
The sunset was indeed beautiful along with some local talent street performances and some local food like fresh guacamole and chips and coconut water. We spent an hour here and then walked back to the car through Duval Street.
It took around 2 hours to get back to the hotel.
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